Piss and Vinegar

I saw a friend the other day while walking in the store,
A sailor all his great long life; he’d seen a lot of war,
He was quite tall and lean and gaunt with ready broadened smile,
He said, “I haven’t seen you ‘cause I’ve been sick for awhile.”

“I’m usually full of ‘piss and vinegar’”, he said to me,
He smiled again and closed his eyes, “I’m not yet cancer free,”
“I’ve seen so much on foreign shores; I’ve known such stress and strife”,
“This is the toughest battle I’ve encountered in my life.”

I said that, “I will pray for you,” into my eyes he gazed,
A longing look, a friendly smile, yet he was barely phased,
I do not know if ears have dimmed or did not care to hear,
I only know I saw in him the look of subtle fear.

We talked a while about the treatment that he knew so well,
The regimens continued on which took him close to ‘hell’,
He laughed out loud and smiled so broad when I said, “Listen, Glen!”
“I hope to see you full of ‘piss and vinegar’ again!”

Peter Lowell Paulson
August 13, 2011